Politics

Court Decision Holds Fate Of 1.3M Floridians

WUSF | By Daylina Miller

Published June 16, 2015 at 12:38 PM EDT

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

The Supreme Court, in King v. Burwell, will soon decide whether more than a million Floridians will lose subsidies they rely on to buy insurance on HealthCare.gov.

ThePro-Obamacaregroup analyzed the number of people in Florida at risk of losing subsidies. The group believes many people will no longer be able to afford coverage if the Supreme Court takes away the financial help.

"Florida is the state that has the largest number of people who are at risk of losing subsidies,” said Ron Pollack, the executive director for Families USA. “All together in the 27 congressional districts, the number of people at risk is 1,325,00 people."

About 1.6 million Floridians are enrolled in insurance plans through HealthCare.gov.

By the numbers:

In the eight districts that make up most of South Florida (districts 20-27), running from West Palm Beach to Key West, more about 622,000 people are at-risk of losing their subsidies.
In Central Florida, districts 9 and 10, which take in Orlando, Winter Haven and Kissimmee, an estimated 107,000 people could lose their subsidies.
On the west coast, Districts 13, 14 and 16 that make up the Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota area, about 114,000 people could lose subsidies.
In Florida, the average monthly premium for an individual with subsidized insurance is $82, versus $376 without a subsidy.

The numbers in the report come from the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services.

“We put this map together to show the very real pain that will be inflicted on huge numbers of families in Florida if the subsidies are struck down by the Supreme Court,” Pollack said. “To protect the health of all Americans, it is imperative that the Court uphold the availability of premium tax credit subsidies in every state.

Another 33 states that have federally-run marketplaces also risk losing subsidies.

Daylina Miller is a reporter with in Tampa. WUSF is a part of , which receives support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.